This is the second of three articles sequentially covering the love Jesus taught, the connection between love and oneness, and the implications of oneness for you and the Bible. The first article can be found here.
Jesus is indisputably connected to loving one another, but He also stressed the importance of oneness, even praying to His Father in the High Priestly Prayer that all be one.
I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. (John 17:20–21, NASB)
These verses are important for several reasons. They show Jesus’ desire for all to be one and indicate the intimate connection between Jesus and God and the intimacy He envisioned between humanity and God.
This intimacy was fully displayed when Philip asked Jesus to show the disciples God. But Jesus had an unexpected response for Philip.
If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:7–15, NASB)
In this response, Jesus was saying, similar to the content of the High Priestly Prayer, that He and God are the same, one within the other. Viewing one is akin to viewing the other. Further, it is possible to do works greater than Jesus, indicating that the disciples had the same capabilities.
A further indication of oneness is found in 1 John 4:20–21.
If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God must also love his brother and sister. (NASB)
This draws a direct parallel between God and His children, stating that not loving one is the equivalent of not loving the other. What other option is possible if both are one?
And then again in 1 John 3:13–18:
Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him? Little children, let’s not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” (NASB)
Poor thoughts towards anyone make one a murderer because these thoughts kill the oneness God created and which He refuses to relinquish.
The connection between oneness and love is worthy of elaboration. A core component of Jesus’ message is that you are one with your brothers and sisters and with God. Let’s look first at humanity’s oneness.
The dictionary definition of oneness is sameness. But how can two people be the same when they are different? We have been raised to think we are unique and special since birth. But Jesus suggests a fundamental sameness to us all, an equivalency essential to his core message. He asks us to look beyond superficial, self-constructed differences toward this sameness.
Any focus, even very slightly, on superficial differences obscures the sameness completely. Unfortunately, we are experts at recognizing differences and judging them. This is why Jesus admonished judgment, as it obscures the oneness. As Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount:
Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1–2, NASB)
But how is it possible to overlook differences and sin when they are so apparent and prevalent? The answer is forgiveness. Again, as Jesus also said during the Sermon on the Mount:
For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses. (Matthew 6:14–15, NASB)
Jesus paints a perfect path back to God. Start by loving each other, and God’s love will be apparent. His new commandment to His disciples was to “love one another, just as I have loved you” (John 13:34, NASB).
Once you learn to love one another, the love of God will be automatic. As Jesus stated in the Parable of the Prodigal Son:
So he set out and came to his father. But when he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (Luke 15:20, NASB)
Love and oneness are inextricably linked. Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another precisely because they were one with each other. What other possible course of action is there if all are one? This is the message Jesus intended to deliver and the message God gave Him.
Jesus’ message of love and oneness has considerable implications for how humanity is expected to behave if salvation is to be achieved. His clear message is to look beyond the separation ingrained in our everyday existence towards forgiveness. It is not until you love your brother and sister that you will approach loving God.
This version of salvation differs considerably from that espoused by most Christians today. I will focus on this in my next article.
